Captain Kardulon's star log of the Pardus universe
by Arexander
Summary: Kardulon, a young and eager Ska'ari, has finally received his Pardusian Pilot's License and is now ready to take on the universe full of exciting territories to explore, trade and fight in. This is his personal star log, the story of his life as a space pilot in the dangerous open space that he will soon learn to call home.
1. Starlog 250416

**Starlog 250416**

* * *

Today marks the first day of my new life.

It was the day when I finally was handed the papers to my first starship, a Rustclaw-class trader going by the name of _Profitable Venture_. Sure, it's old and worn, but it still flies like it was new, and has a sizable cargo hold to boot. I wasted no time before I launched from my home planet of Zearla. I planned to make my way to the cluster's central hub straight away and sign up to the Empire to support the faction. Alas, no plan survives first contact with the enemy, as they say.

My travels were stopped at a narrow pass through the energy fields of Ackarack, just past the JFK foam. A huge crystalline structure was blocking the way, and after inquiring in the global communications network about the possible hostility of the object, the passage was deemed impossible as the Space Crystal is a very dangerous adversary indeed. But there was a silver lining to the blockage after all, as the local Trade Outposts were paying a good price for any Exotic Matter extracted from the JFK Foam. I netted a good 200k credits during the day, before I retired back to Zearla to rest for the night.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	2. Starlog 260416

**Starlog 260416**

* * *

Progress at last.

The Space Crystal I encountered yesterday was gone when I made an approach today. Whether it had moved away by its own volition or it was destroyed, I do not know. The Trade Outposts at Ackarack were still untouched after I sold them full of Exotic Matter yesterday, so without any immediate profits to be made, I passed through the energy field and started my journey towards Edvea. During the travel I stopped by every Starbase and every planet I saw, but none of them had anything of interest for me. One of the Starbases did not even let me peruse their wares, as they were wary of my neutral status. With all the talk about pirates that I've heard, I do not fault them for being cautious around me, no matter how unnecessary it may be.

After finally arriving at Edvea, I saw many a ship flying the flag of an alliance called BIS. The full meaning of the name is still a mystery to me, but seeing the ships around left me wondering if I might find a home in their midst. I have no desire to leave the cluster as of yet so a home with fellow pilots sounds more than a bit tempting.

Before reaching a decision, I visited the local Trade Outpost to see their wares, and was astounded to see the price they were willing to pay for Exotic Matter: 1.020cr a ton! I immediately raced back to Ackarack and harvested as much Exotic Matter as my cargo hold could take. Unfortunately, in my haste I miscalculated the amount of energy my ship still had, so my journey was slowed down to a crawl at the last leg of the trip. I also had to use the emergency drive for a bit as I forgot to scoop some hydrogen for fuel before crossing an energy field, so it took considerably longer than anticipated to get back to the Trade Outpost. I did eventually make it back, and I will certainly make the trip again tomorrow, if nothing else comes up.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	3. Starlog 270416

**Starlog 270416**

* * *

The decision has been made.

I've come to the conclusion that I will send my application to join the alliance BIS first thing tomorrow. Of course, sending the application means I need to join the Empire first, which I can't do today, as the offices have closed for the day, so that's why I'm waiting until tomorrow to send the application. I cannot believe I forgot about the Empire until today. Well, I guess I can believe I forgot about it, there were profits to be made after all.

Speaking of profits, I made another run of importing Exotic Matter from Ackarack to Edvea, only to run into energy problems once again. It seems I need to wait a bit longer before launching for another run. Unfortunately, the energy problems were the least of my worries, as I managed to run out of fuel once again. It was inside another energy pass, this time in Miackio, but this pass extended all the way from the Oldain wormhole to the Edvea wormhole with no clear space to scoop hydrogen from. And to make matters even worse, I ran out in the exact middle point of the pass. The emergency drive is good for hopping a couple clicks, but this would have taken at least ten hops, which equals to almost half of my maximum energy capacity, so using the emergency drive was out of question. With no other options, I sent a distress signal out into the ether and switched off my non-critical systems to save energy, hoping that the signal would reach a helpful person before it reached a no-good pirate.

Gods were favourable to me, as after waiting a quarter hour, I saw a Tyrant-class trader approaching me. There is no way for a Tyrant-class to be a pirate, it doesn't have any hardpoints for guns, and only has three missile slots as well. It would be a waste of credits to be hunting pilots with only missiles, given their tendency to miss. And so it was that the Tyrant-class dropped two tons of fuel into my cargo hold and continued on its way. I sent its pilot, a Human flying under another BIS flag, a grateful message after I got my systems back online and carried on to the Edvea wormhole to make the final jump of my run. I had to wait at the wormhole for a little longer to recharge my energy so I could get across the sector to the planet and its oh-so-lucrative Trade Outpost.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	4. Starlog 280416

**Starlog 280416**

* * *

It's done.

I've joined the Empire and sent the application to join BIS. Now I just need to wait patiently for them to reply to my application, hopefully with a favourable answer.

In the meantime, I departed for another run of Exotic Matter imports, this time after making sure I'd have the energy to fly back. Unfortunately, there was a Space Crystal blocking the path again, so no profits could be made this time. Determined not to let the day go to ruin, I flew to Resurrection Station, the nearby starbase, to see if there were any deliveries to be made for the Empire. As luck would have it, there was one job which I could and did take. I was asked to deliver 6 tons of packages to the planet Greliai halfway across the cluster. I had easily enough energy left to make the trip and pick up any additional delivery missions on the way, so that's what I did.

I flew from station to station and planet to planet, grabbing whatever missions were available and on the way, with the net result being four completed delivery runs at a total of 24 tons for 4.470cr. I do not know the average rates for deliveries, so I can't say if it was good or bad, but I feel accomplished either way.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	5. Starlog 290416

**Starlog 290416**

* * *

I got in!

The leadership of BIS has accepted my application and I am now officially a member of the leading alliance in the Empire West Ska'ari Cluster. I have already received a warm welcome from many of my new companions, including the recruitment manager, who commended me on my exceptional application. I must say I'm excited to be aboard the group!

I also decided to finally modernize my ship, the Profitable Venture, so I could get more out of the import runs. First of all, I sold the unused Mining Laser, as I don't intend to mine asteroids when the fields are full of Asteroid Mines, and the laser is pretty lackluster as a combat weapon. I did install a second tier Tritanium armor layer on the ship for improved survivability, and I also upgraded the engine from a Nuclear powerplant to a Fusion one to help with the energy management. Other equipment I installed include an Escape Pod, which I hope I will never need, a Magnetic Scoop for extra haulage at the cost of higher energy requirements when activated, and an upgraded Map Pack for when my personal, more detailed map doesn't work.

On the profit making front, I did another trip to Ackarack to see if the route was clear, which it was. I had also taken two deliveries to complete, one of which I already completed on the way to Ackarack, and the other was to be completed back at Edvea, so I had a bit less space for Exotic Matter this time around. The run was completed without any problems, as were the deliveries, but I feel like I could be making a lot more money if I had a bigger ship, which I lack a license for. I need to progress in the ranks of the Empire to get into a bigger ship, which means I need to take more delivery missions instead of making supply runs. The problem is, there aren't a lot of deliveries to be made and I'd rather not take on the various missions to eliminate monsters that I see so regularly. I guess I need to think on the matter a bit more.

On that note, I've also decided to relocate to Ackarack for the time being, as this way I don't need to cross half the cluster to see if I can make a trading run. Instead, I can just look out the view screens of the Resurrection Station before I launch to determine if I'm trading Exotic Matter or delivering packages for the day.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	6. Starlog 300416

**Starlog 300416**

* * *

I have been promoted!

Due to the multiple package deliveries I've done for Imperial personnel, the Empire saw it fit to promote me to the rank of Serf, the next step from the lowest rank of Outsider. Along with the promotion, I got the licenses to use a new class of starships, the Tyrant-class trader, and a new missile, the Imperial G-7 Sidewinder. I most likely won't be using either of the new licenses, as the missiles are fairly small and ineffective compared to the guns I could get, and the Tyrant-class trader is only marginally better than my current ship. In any case, I am very honored to receive such recognition for my actions.

I once again ventured into the JFK foam to reap the rewards that it brings. This time, one of the Trade Outposts nearby was emptied so I took the opportunity to fill it up again, netting me another 200k credits. After filling up the energy reserves at Resurrection Station, I went on a delivery run, planning on travelling through the cluster in a big circle and visiting as many stations and planets as I could. The run was fairly successful, with seven different deliveries made for a net profit of just a hair under 9,000 credits. I'm starting to think that the deliveries aren't really the best way to make a profit, but they certainly seem to improve your image in the eyes of the Imperial officials, so they do pay off in the long run.

I'm hoping to get a promotion again at some point, as I'm eyeing on buying a new ship to replace my aging Rustclaw. The poor thing still struggles to hold itself together even with the modernization I've done to it, and I'd rather get myself a more reliable ship before _Profitable Venture_ breaks apart.  
The ship I've been thinking of getting is a Spectre-class trader. The ship is almost half the size of a Rustclaw-class but still has a cargo hold about 30% bigger, has better armament and its armor and hull can withstand more punishment. In short, the ship is better in every category but the price and the requirement of a rank of Master or higher, but neither the price nor the rank requirement are overly difficult to overcome. Especially not the price, as my alliance has a policy of funding any willing traders a trading ship of their own once they reach the required rank. And getting the rank will only be a matter of time, which I have plenty. I can always turn a nice profit in Exotic Matter exports, at the very least.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	7. Starlog 010516

**Starlog 010516**

* * *

Another promotion!

It seems I have attracted some serious attention from some Imperial officials. Two promotions in two days, I'm not completely sure if it's normal to rise up in the ranks that fast. Although to be completely honest, rising up from the rank of Outsider to Serf to Master doesn't really sound that glorious, so I guess there's a certain logic behind the fast rank-up. In any case, getting the promotion to Master after another 25 completed deliveries has earned me the license to buy a Spectre-class trader. I will be shopping for a suitable one first thing in the morning as the delivery runs completely exhausted my energy reserves, although my decision to already start flying towards Edvea's shipyards might have played into that as well. I'm currently sitting in the safe zone around the Miackio wormhole in Edvea's sector, as I'm waiting for my energy reserves to recharge once again.

I didn't do any trading today, as could be seen from the huge amount of deliveries I made, so profits were minimal at best. The one saving grace on the economic side is another alliance mate of mine, Serran Marr. He was the one to provide me information about the current stock of Spectre-class ships in Edvea being on sale for a reduced price, and was also kind enough to propose a meeting somewhere so he could, and I quote, "throw you some credits" because he "want[s] our young pilots to have a good leg up". And because he has the money to spare. I was deeply grateful for his generosity only for the feeling to turn into shock once he transferred 3.5 million credits onto my account. 3.5 MILLION! That's almost fourteen times the amount I earn by trading Exotic Matter for a day! And he said he earns that in three days of trading in Edvea! It must be the bigger ship...

I'm still finding it hard to express the pure disbelief I felt when I got the message that confirmed the transaction. With my current funds, I could buy a whole fleet of Spectre-class traders! At least I can have some leeway in my spending for a while, I doubt I can burn through 3.5 million credits in a while, especially when I'm mainly trading or doing deliveries, which are both fairly positive on the balance. I'm actually starting to think of jumping into a fighter just to see what it feels like to fight, but I'm still hesitant to do so as I'd rather just live and let live, as is said. Besides, it's better for the profits if people aren't killed.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	8. Starlog 020516

**Starlog 020516**

* * *

The _Profitable Venture_ is no more.

Yes, my first ever starship is gone. Not by destruction, mind you, I sold it for a better ship, the Spectre-class hybrid _Lucrative Foray_. Yes, hybrid. I had thought the ship was a trader but apparently it can do both combat and trading fairly well, even if it can't excel at either. I, of course, had to take the ship for a spin after equipping it with the necessary equipment, an Ion powerplant, an Auto-Refueler, a Mag Scoop, an Escape Pod, all the good stuff and then some. Unlike with the _Profitable Venture_ , I also installed a Small Shield Generator and two 1 MW Particle Lasers for basic self-defense and creature removal. I can't get through the Space Crystal yet, I would need at least a high-tier fighter or a low-tier battleship for that, but I can get rid of various smaller creatures, like Space Maggots, Young Space Dragons and Bio Scavengers. Well, those are the three I've tried so far with the new ship, and they seem to be dealt with fairly quickly, even with my inexperience in fighting.

Putting that aside, I did manage to squeeze in a quick package run as well, netting me another 20 deliveries at a gross weight of 162 tons and for a profit of 28.7k credits. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, I'm consistently finishing with more and more energy left in my reserves, although my upgraded powerplant might help things a bit as well. Today the saved up energy was needed as well, as I was surprised to see packages left in the cargo hold after finishing the deliveries for the day. Turns out that I had accidentally picked up a delivery to a different destination than I thought, so I had to make an extra run there just to get the packages delivered. Good thing the destination was Oldain, the sector right next to Watibe, where I finish my runs before returning to Ackarack. I did have to wait a bit for my energy reserves to fill up again so I could fly back to Ackarack, though, but that wasn't really an issue. I've done a fair share of waiting already, that's just how things work around here.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	9. Starlog 030516

**Starlog 030516**

* * *

Another promotion?

I just received a message informing me of my promotion to the rank of Sir. I'm confused now, am I supposed to get this many promotions so fast? Am I getting preferential treatment? Is someone playing power games and using me as a pawn? Promotions are supposed to be celebrated, but I'm getting increasingly worried. Then again, the naming system still checks out, getting from Master to Sir. Am I knighted now? Am I a lower class noble? This is so confusing. I might need to look up information about the ranking system in the Empire, maybe that clears things up.

With my new promotion, I received a couple new licenses to play with. One of the is a license to use a Shadow Stealth Craft, which is the smallest fighter in the Empire, and that's not a bad thing. The Shadow Stealth Craft is so small that it is almost impossible to hit it when flown by an experienced pilot, and it has four gun hardpoints as well. It doesn't have any hardpoints for missiles, though, which limits its potential somewhat, but it is still a formidable opponent. Of course, as the ship is so small, the hull is quite fragile and the armor a bit lacking, but with the right materials the armor can hold itself, especially when combined with the agility of the craft. I most likely won't be getting one right now, I still have no interest in flying around and shooting stuff when I could be making a profit.

Today's deliveries weren't as numerous as before, counting at 15 completed delivery missions, but it is still nothing to scoff at. The _Lucrative Foray_ sure feels a lot better to fly than the old _Profitable Venture_ , but I'm still left craving for more space in the cargo hold. I guess I'll just keep at the deliveries until I've received a high enough rank to get the license to a bigger trade ship. Maybe a Constrictor-class would be a good enough milestone for now.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	10. Starlog 040516

**Starlog 040516  
**

* * *

A new personal record has been set.

Today I managed to haul in my largest delivery run so far. The run amounted at a total of 33 missions completed, with a net weight of 290 tons. I'm not even going to bother counting the profits, they aren't really affecting my bank account by a large margin. Along my trading runs, I have also started to pick up missions to clean up some of the wormholes. They get 'dirty' when junk like asteroids and parts from a derelict ship get sucked into the wormhole and get stuck there. This junk is a danger to ships jumping through the wormhole, as the speed in the wormhole is so large that even a tiny rock can act like an armor piercing shot, and due to the wormholes' chaotic nature, they completely bypass any shielding or armor a starship might have, resulting in direct hull damage. And if you're transporting explosives, getting hit by this junk might cause a chain reaction and blow all the explosives in you hold, often fatally. Due to the danger represented by a 'dirty' wormhole, a mission is given every once in a while where pilots are required to go through the wormhole and tow any junk out and then blast them to bits. I've already completed a couple of these missions, they are fairly simply to do, especially when you're going through the wormhole anyway.

Today was a good (if quiet) day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	11. Starlog 050516

**Starlog 050516**

* * *

Nothing spectacular happened today.

It was just another delivery run, going through the cluster, picking jobs here and there, nothing fancy. I took a couple extermination missions as well to break the routine, but all in all, this isn't how I saw things going when I first got the ship. I guess it was just the ecstasy of first days in space, everything was new and unique, exciting. And now the routine kicks in, quenching the excitement of the first days. Somehow it's both relieving and depressing to fall into a routine. You have something safe to do everyday, but at the same time the excitement of exploring new things is left missing. Then it's just a matter of deciding which one is a bigger driving force, the need for safety or for excitement.

Nevertheless, the story goes on. The deliveries weren't as numerous today, but I'm not in a hurry either. The goal is to reach the rank of Squire, which is the next one on the line. That rank allows me to get a license to fly the Venom-class hybrids. The Venom-class is a bit more geared toward combat than trading, but it still has a larger cargo hold than the Spectre-class I'm currently flying. The reason I'm eager to get the Venom is due to a sudden need for a trader to take care of two sectors our alliance holds, Iowagre and Quaphi. The need for a trader became imminent as the current stocker, as the traders are called due to them managing the building stock levels, left the alliance in search of an alliance to help him hone his combat skills better. Although to be fair, BIS can provide for the more combative pilots as well, but there is a bigger alliance around, the Empaya, who has a foothold in the West Ska'ari Cluster as well in addition to having territory elsewhere. Due to them being bigger than us in number of pilots, they also have a larger territory, so they have a more diverse set of specialist trainers available for their combat pilots. That, ultimately, led to the ex-member of ours to decide in favour of leaving and trying his luck elsewhere, especially when our alliance still struggles to hold our territory together, especially when Empaya seems to be slowly creeping towards our territories. I can only hope this territory dispute doesn't escalate into anything bigger.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	12. Starlog 070516

**Starlog 070516**

* * *

I have been promoted yet again.

At least this time it took a bit more time until my new promotion, maybe the rate will go down when I progress further into the ranks. My new rank is now Squire, which is high enough to unlock the licenses to the Venom-class hybrid. I'm going to fly back to Edvea to see if there are any available for purchase tomorrow, as I've already used up my energy on the delivery run. This time I completed 36 missions, four of which were from neutral personnel. I also cleaned up the Ackarack wormhole in Watibe and splatted three Space Maggots to complete some of the missions as well, so it was not all deliveries. I did run my energy supply to critical levels before finishing all of the missions, and a couple of the extermination missions were running close to the deadline before I had the energy required to kill the last Space Maggot they required. At least I still completed all of them, even if I'm not going to take more kill missions while on delivery runs, combat just takes too much of my precious energy.

Speaking of energy, I ran into some problems yesterday with the Ion Drive of my ship, which caused me to stay grounded for the day, explaining the missing starlog. I'd rather leave a day in between starlogs than add a log with basically nothing in it.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


	13. Starlog 080516

**Starlog 080516**

* * *

A new ship has been acquired.

I have sold the _Lucrative Foray_ in favour of a Venom-class hybrid. The purchase has finally made a dent into my massive funds by costing about 775k, even if I got almost a quarter of a million back by selling the _Lucrative Foray_. I have named my new ship _Productive Escapade_ and equipped it with the basics: an Ion Drive, a Small Shield, an Escape Pod and such. I did spend a bit more on the combat capabilities of the ship this time around, as the Venom-class hybrid is more geared towards combat, so it would only make sense to take the most out of it. I didn't fully convert the ship to combat, though, but it is relatively quick to do so if needed. At the moment I have armed it with two 4 MW Light Weight Particle Lasers for offensive capability while saving space for trading, and installed a third tier Zortrium armor on it for added protection. I also upgraded my trading capabilities a bit by installing a Class I Teleporter, halving the energy requirements for trading as I don't need to dock every single time I want to exchange goods and credits.

After the equipment were installed, I took the ship for a spin through the local asteroid fields to see how it handled itself in combat. I must have splatted at least ten Space Maggots during my time there, and I feel like my combat skills are getting a bit better, or at least I seem to be hitting more often so I need less passes to kill a target. Of course, these are Space Maggots, so they aren't the really that challenging to fight, more of a target practice really. And they seem to be multiplying rapidly, as I cleared the area of all the Maggots I could find, only to come back ten minutes later to an asteroid field once again teeming with Maggots, so I don't think my sudden killing spree affected the ecosystem all that much. I guess that's why there are so many missions to eradicate these things, as they hinder trade and production in and near the asteroid fields. On that note, I found the process of clearing the asteroid field somewhat... relaxing, maybe even relieving. I'm going to keep this in mind if I ever feel the need to vent.

Today was a good day.

* * *

 **Log end**


End file.
